Frequency regulator



April 28, 1953 P. w. FRANKLIN 2,637,015

FREQUENCY REGULATOR Filed Aug. 23, 1949 TORQUE FIG. 2

INVENTOR.

PAUL W FRANKL /N v BY FREQUENCY g Patented Apr. 28, 1953 FREQUENCY REGULATOR Paul W. Franklin, N utley, N. J assignor to Bendix Aviation Corporation, Teterboro, N. J a. corporation of Delaware Application August 23, 1949, Serial No. 111,926

6 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to frequency responsive apparatus and more particularly to that type suitable for regulating the speed of a motor or generator.

The invention finds particularly utile application in such accessories for aircraft as air driven power supplies wherein it is sought to operate a throttle for controlling the speed of a prime mover, by means of an electric torque motor responsive to the output of an alternator driven by said prime mover.

"Such an arrangement is illustrated in copending application filed July 14, 1949, Serial No. 104,714 by Walter D. Teague, Jr. and John S. Jacquith and assigned to the assignee of the present application.

One of the objects of the present invention, therefore, is to provide means for regulating the speed of a prime mover by controlling a throttle, field rheostat or any other speed adjusting device in connection with said prime mover, by means of an electric motor, providing torque responsive to the frequency and therefore the speedof an alternator driven by said prime mover.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for preventing an alternator or motor or the like from overspeeding and to do so in a novel and efiective manner.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a system of the above indicated nature in which all of the components are capable of operation at relatively high temperatures due to the combination of said components.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved frequency regulator circuit contemplating the use of a series resonant circuit to accomplish regulation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a frequency sensitive source of torque, adaptable to be applied to a a regulator or servo mechanism for speed regulation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a system of the above-indicated nature having a high ratio between torque change and frequency change, thus providing means for close speed regulation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide motor regulating means whereby the vari able phase of a troque motor is connected to an alternator through a resonant circuit, and an overspeed safety device embodying filter means is adapted to cut out said resonant circuit past the resonant frequency of said circuit.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the detailed description which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawing wherein one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example. It is 2 to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for the purposes of illustration only and is not to be construed as defining the limits of the invention.

Fig. 1 of the drawing is a diagrammatic view illustrating a control system embodying one form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a graph showing the torque curves of the spring I1 and the motor II] when the variable phase is connected thru the resonant circuit, as a function of the frequency of the alternator herein.

Referring now to the drawing, a two phase actuator motor is generally designated by the numeral I0 having a fixed phase winding II and a variable phase winding [2. The rotor shaft [3 of the motor Ill controls an air servo l4 which in turn operates a throttle [5, which governs the flow of driving fluid to a prime mover IS. The shaft l3 of the torque motor In turns against the adjustable force of a spring I]. There is further provided an alternator l8 having a permanent magnet l9 and three phase stator windings 20, 22 and 23, having output conductors 24, 25 and 26, respectively and a center output conductor 28 grounded as at 29. The rotor 30 of the alternator I8 is on a common shaft 3| with the prime mover l6 and is driven thereby.

The fixed phase winding ll of the motor [8 is connected by means of conductor 32, phase shift 33, including a variable resistor 34 and a capacitance 35 and a conductor 31 to the phase winding 20 of the alternator l8, and the variable phase winding l2 of the motor I0 is connected to the phase winding 22 of the alternator [8 through a series resonant circuit consisting of a conductor 36, the relay arm 38 of a relay 40, the function of which is hereinafter explained, a conductor 42, a variable resistor 43, a capacitance 44, an inductance 46 and a conductor 48.

it is to be noted that the aforenoted circuit from the variable phase winding I2 of the motor I0 to the phase winding 22 of the alternator I8 is operative only when the relay arm 38 of the relay 40 closes contact 52, for when the relay arm 38 is in its opposite position, thereby connecting contact 54, the variable phase winding I2 of the motor l0 will be connected to phase winding 20 of the alternator l8 by means of conductor 36, relay arm 38, conductor 56, phase shift 58 including a variable resistor 60 and an inductance 62, and conductor 64 joining conductor 37 at point 66, thereby cutting out the capacitance 44 and the inductance 46.

The relay 40 is of a type Well known in the art, and, when a coil 10 is energized, operates to normally close switch arm 38 and contact 52 thereby overcoming a spring 68. When the coil 18 is de-energized, the spring 68 will urge the 3 relay arm 38 to close contact 55. The relay 40 has a coil '10 connected across phase 22 of the alternator [8 through a low pass filter 12 of conventional type well known in the art. The coil it is connected in a circuit including conductors it, it, ll is and at.

The energizing of the relay 50 is controlled by the low pass filter 12 which is set to permit only current with a frequency below a predetermined value to pass therethrough,.and it will be apparent that in the instant device the filter 12 will be set to pass only currents of frequencies up to the value of the point markedB in'Fig. 2 to the circuit comprising the variable phase winding [2 of the motor I9, conductor 36, relay arm 38, conductor d2, variable resistor #33, capacitance id and inductance t6 and conductor 38, for when the frequency output ofthe alternator it exceeds the above-mentioned critical frequency of said filter circuit, it is desirable to de-energize the coil iii of the relay it thereby causing spring 68 to urge arm 3% to connect terminal 50 to terminal 54 so as to cut out capacitance ill and inductance 46.

It is to be noted that a high pass filter of the type commonly employed in the art might be employed to equal advantage in lieu of low pass filter 72 by merely reversing the position of spring 68, and of coil it so that coil it would then be normally de-energized, and upon becoming energized would overcome the spring 68 to bring terminal 58 into contact with terminal 5:3.

As the frequency of the alternator it which is driven by the prime mover it whose speed it is desired to regulate increases due to an increase in the speed of the prime mover, there will be a corresponding increase in the current through the variable phase winding i2 as the resonant frequency of the series resonant circuit comprising the capacitance id, and the inductance ib is approached, resulting in a corresponding increase in output torque of the shaft 13 of the motor ill. The increased torque will overcome the tension of the spring I! and actuate the servo Hi to operate the throttle if: in a speed decreasing direction as the output frequency of the alternator exceeds the regulated value of point C of Fig. 2 and upon the output frequency of the alternator decreasing below the point C of Fig. 2 the servo M is actuated so as to operate the throttle i5 in a speed decreasing direction.

The adjustable tension in the spring I! is arranged so that at alternator frequencies below the point A (Fig. 2), of the circuit including capacitance id and inductance t6, the resulting differential torque between the spring I? and the torque supplied by the motor l9 designated in Fig. 2 as the distances a and b is approximately proportional to the frequency deviation from the set frequency C.

It will now be seen that since the rotor shaft [3 of the motor it controls the servo It to actuate the throttle i5, the speed of the prime mover I 6, and therefore of the alternator 18 may be controlled by the motor it, so that with an increase in prime mover speed, in excess of a predetermined value designated by point C in Fig. 2, power to the prime mover is decreased by closing the throttle l5, and with a decrease in prime mover speed below the predetermined value C, power available to the prime mover i6 is increased by opening the throttle IS. The action of the spring I7 is such as to maintain the throttle [5 open when no torque is furnished and capacitance id, inductance and conductor As the speed of the prime mover it increases towards a critical value, designated at B in Fig. 2, the alternator l8 driven thereby will supply a higher frequency voltage to the low pass filter I2. The filter i2 is set so that only frequencies below said critical value, or point B, are permitted to energize coil It of relay .49 to cause the relay arm 38 to connect terminals and 52. When the frequency output of the alternator I8 is in excess of said critical value, no current will pass through the filter i2, and the coil 10 of the relay All will be de-energized, thereby enabling the spring 63 to urge the control arm 38 to connect terminals and 55, thereby cutting out the capacitance id and the inductance 46, and connecting the motor lil directly to the alternator l8 by means of conductor 36, relay arm 38, conductor 5%, phase shift 58, and conductors lit and 37!. The coil ll! of the relay 40 will be immediately energized to operate the arm 38 as soon as a voltage is generated from the alternator [8.

A voltage will, therefore, be impressed upon the two phase control motor ill of proper phase so as to cause the torque of the motor ill to be maintained at a value in excess of the force of the spring H causing the servo Hi to close the throttle i5 thereby cutting off the supply of driving fluid to the prime mover I6 and thereby decreasing its speed.

When the prime mover l6 slows down sufficiently so that the frequency output voltage of the alternator i8 is below the aforementioned critical-value. current will again pass through the filter l2 and energize the coil it of the relay it so that the relay arm 38' will again connect the terminal 56 to the terminal 52, and the control motor It will again be connected to the alternator I 3 through the series resonant circuit including capacitance ie and inductance 46 to thereby provide normal frequency control.

The leading phase shift control 3;; comprising a variable resistor 3d and the capacitance 1-35 is set to optimum phase relationship between the variable phase winding i2 and the fixed phase winding 1 l of the motor it when terminal 58 is connected to terminal 52, and the lagging phase shift control 58 comprising the variable resistor 60 and the inductance $2 is set to optimum phase relationship between the fixed phase winding H and the variable phase winding l2 of the motor 20 when the terminal 5d of the relay 4! is connected to terminal M.

It will thus be apparent that there are provided means for regulating the speed of a prime mover by controlling a throttle by means of an electric torque motor responsive to the frequency output of an alternator driven by said prime mover, and low pass filter means for preventing the overspeeding of said alternator.

A particular feature of said torque development of the motor ill consists in the fact that the resulting torque is not only a function of the currents in windings ii and i2, but also depends upon the time angle between both currents. It should be noted that the resonant circuit comprising elements 43, 44 and 40, does not only change the actual amount of the current in phase winding 12, but also its time angle with regard to the fixed phase current in winding l 1. Therefore, with varying frequency the resulting motor torque changes at a particularly high rate as shown by the relatively sharp shape of the motor torque curve in Fig. 2. Toward this end, the otherwise constant phase shift 33 is subject to initial adjustment by means of variable resistor 34, so as to permit a maximum variable phase shift between the currents in windings II and i2, this phase shift being caused entirely by the varying impedance of the resonant circuit which includes the capacitance 44 and the inductance 4B.

A particular advantage of the aforesaid system consists in the absence of components sensitive to high temperature such as metallic rectifiers or the like. Due to the absence of electronic tubes or other components which generally require a warming-up period, the system herein may be put into immediate operation thereby obviating the necessity of a waiting period.

Although only one embodiment and one application of the invention has been illustrated and described, other changes and modifications in the form and relative arrangement of parts, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An electric speed control for a mechanism wherein a prime mover drives an alternator, and a torque motor operates servo means controlling a device adapted to regulate the speed of said prime mover, said control comprising an inductance and a capacitance in a resonant circuit connecting said torque motor to said alternator, a relay responsive to the frequency of said alternator in said resonant circuit, and a low pass filter controlling the current from said alternator to said relay to de-energize said relay and cut out said inductance and capacitance upon the exceeding of a predetermined frequency by said alternator.

2. For use as a speed governing device for an alternator, the combination comprising a torque motor, a resonant circuit for connecting said torque motor to said alternator to correspondingly vary the toque of the motor with alternator speed, a magnetic relay in said resonant circuit, and filter means responsive to the frequency of said alternator to actuate said relay to discontinue said resonant circuit upon the output frequency of said alternator exceeding a predetermined value.

3. For use as a speed governing device for an alternator, the combination comprising a torque motor, a resonant circuit for connecting said torque motor to said alternator to vary the torque of the motor with alternator speed, and frequency responsive means for discontinuing said resonant circuit upon the output frequency of the alternator exceeding a predetermined value.

4. For use as a speed governing device for an alternator; the combination comprising a torque motor having a shaft driven thereby, an inductor and a capacitance in series connecting said motor to said alternator, spring means resisting the turning of said motor shaft adapted to exert a force on said shaft corresponding to the frequency output of said alternator, a relay normally connecting said motor to said alternator and responsive to the frequency from said alternator,

and filter means intermediate said alternator and relay controlling the flow of current thereto, said filter means adapted to de-energize said relay upon the frequency of said alternator exceeding a predetermined value to affect said spring to bias said motor shaft to reduce the speed of said alternator.

5. In a speed governing device for a prime mover driving an alternator, the combination comprising a torque motor, spring means resisting the turning of the shaft of said motor, said motor being energized by said alternator, a resonant circuit connecting said motor and said alternator, a relay in said circuit, and a frequency sensing filter governing the flow of current from said alternator to said relay, said resonant circuit normally operating to maintain constant speed below a predetermined frequency, and said filter operating to cut out said resonant circuit upon the frequency exceeding said predetermined value, thereby causing a differential torque between said motor and said spring to rapidly reduce the speed of said prime mover.

6. For use in governing an alternator so as to maintain the frequency of the alternating current output of said alternator at a predetermined value; a speed governing device comprising a torque motor, a speed control element biased by said motor in one sense, other means for biasing said element in an opposite sense, said motor including a fixed phase winding and a variable phase winding, a resonant circuit including inductance and capacitance, said resonant circuit being tuned to a frequency above that of said predetermined output value, said resonant circuit connecting the variable phase winding of said motor to the output of said alternator so as to vary with a change in the frequency of said out ut the current and current time angle in said variable phase winding with respect to the fixed phase winding so as to cause a steep rate of torque change in said motor with change in the frequency of said output, and additional phase shifting means for connecting said fixed phase winding to the output of said alternator, said phase shifting means for maintaining a maximum pha e shift between the current in said variable and fixed phase windings, and thereby said steep rate of torque chan e in said motor.

PAUL W. FRANKLIN.

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